Improvement in harness attachments for hitching and unhitching horses



' T. l. HOBBS. I Harness Attachments fur H-itch ing and Un'hitching Horses. 143 7 Patented Oct. 14,1813.

); m I f UNITED- STATES PATENT Qnrrcn.

THoMAs J. DOBBS, or WEEHAWKEN, NEW JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN HARNESS ATTACHMENTS FOR HITCHING AND UNHITCHING HORSES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 143,678, dated October 14, 1873 application filed August 21, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS J. DoBBs, of Weehawken, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented an Improved Harness Attachment for Hitching and Unhitching Horses to and from Vehicles, of which the following is a specification:

This invention relates to means whereby a horse may be quickly harnessed and unharnessed to or from a wagon or other vehicle, and an action equivalent to that of the ordinary whiffletree be obtained. These means are composed, for the most part, of two main pieces, the one of which is attached to the saddle and the other to the shafts of the vehicle, and which are locked with each other, when harnessing, by a spring bolt or catch. 1 The portion attached to the saddle comprises a cylinder or stock, which carries a spring that pulls upon a rod to which the traces are attached; and said portion or piece is furthermore mounted with a traveler-rod for a buckle, to which the tug-strap and belly-band are at tached to vibrate on and move backward or forward along, if necessary, the latter movement providing for the adaptation, of the de vice to diiferent-sized horses, andthe vibration of the buckle providing for general yield or play, while the spring-controlled rod to which the traces are attached gives to the de vice all the actions of a whiffletree.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 represents a side view of my improved harnessing and unharnessing device; Fig. 2, a plan of the same, and Fig. 3 a longitudinal vertical section thereof.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

It may here be premised, before describing the inventionin detail, that the latter is duplicated in practice'-that is, one for each shaft or eitherside of the horse.

A represents a stationary metal bed piece or plate, permanently secured to the upper side of the shaft B of the vehicle, and formed with a front upper slotted open jaw, 1), into which the forward end of the other piece 0 of the device connected with the saddle drops, and between which and a back jaw or projection,

I), said saddlepiece O fits, and is locked to the bed-piece A, with or without freedom to turn on its axis, by a bolt or catch, D, connected with the bedpiece, and shot forward by a spiral or other spring, 0, to establish the look. This bolt is provided at its rear end with'a handle, d, to which, if desired, a strap may be attached to draw back the bolt and free the horse in case of it running away with the vehicle. The piece 0 consists mainly of a cylinder or hollow stock, having a screw-cap, e, at its forward end, and providing for the longitudinal movement within it and through its front of a trace-hook rod, E, held by a spring, f, which may either be of metal, rubber, or both combined. Upon the trace being attached to the hooked or forward end of said rod the latter acts as an ordinary whiffletrec. The piece 0 is connected with the saddle in a permanent manner by a buckle, Gr, arranged to freely vibrate upon and to move on or along atraveler-rod, H, which is mounted upon the stock or body of the piece 0, such movements of the buckle being for the purposes hereinbcfore explained. The belly-band strap which supports the shaft is connected with the lower loop 9 of the buckle, and the tugstrap with the upper or tongue portion h thereof.

From this description it will be seen thatthe harnessing or unharnessing of a horse to or from the vehicle may be effected almost instantaneously by simply attaching or detaching, as described, the saddle-piece O of the device to or from the bed-piece A of the shaft.

I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination of'the freely-vibrating and longitudinally-moving buckle Gr with the traveler-rod H and stock or body of the piece 0 carrying said rod, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

2. The saddle-piece G, with its trace-rod E, controlled by a spring, f, traveler-rod H, and buckle G, in combination with the bed or shaft piece A and spring bolt or catch D, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

THOMAS J. DOBBS.

Witnesses MICHAEL RYAN, FRED. HAYNES. 

